The Canal Street block that includes the crumpled Hard Rock Hotel building is home to a handful of other properties that could properly be said to be endangered, as 1031 Canal developers propose demolishing neighboring structures to aid in their demolition of the hotel. Needless to say, not everyone is on board with that idea. Erin Holmes, the Executive Director of Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents, & Associates (VCPORA) joined Newell Tuesday morning to discuss.
“I read a piece you wrote the other day, and you bring a lot of really interesting observations, some of which a lot of people probably never thought about, to the forefront,” Newell began. “I’m curious as to whether or not the Historic District Landmarks Commission (HDLC) has considered what you talked about.”“I was just able to read the staff reports that are associated with the demolition applications,” Holmes said. “They provide an excellent history of the buildings and a wonderful argument as to why they are contributing, specifically the two historic structures facing Canal Street. Three structures are proposed for demolition, but the two at 1019/1025 and 1027 are the ones that preservationists are most concerned about. The staff recommended denial, unless there was proof that their removal was absolutely necessary to facilitate the removal of the failed hotel project.”“The administration seemed to indicate last week that they forgot that under code, they had to go to the HDLC before they could even grant a permit for demolition - or did I misunderstand that?” Newell asked.“I doubt the administration forgot they need to go through this land-use process,” Holmes said. “The failed structure itself is going to have a demolition permit under the name of ‘imminent danger of collapse.’ This is a permit style that can supersede HDLC review and come directly through Safety and permits, but because the additional three structures are not in imminent danger of collapsing, they have to go through the demolition process like any other structure in the historic district would have to.”
